On February 17, 2023, the British Embassy in Uzbekistan and the mission of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a partnership agreement to work together on projects aimed at supporting small businesses in Uzbekistan in the agricultural and textile industries. The project is aimed at increasing the export of agricultural and textile products to the UK, the EU, and other countries, EastFruit experts say.
Within the framework of the project, Uzbek farmers and representatives of agricultural companies will be trained in the environmentally sound use of pesticides and fertilizers, production methods, and post-harvest processing, as well as learn about food safety requirements and certification. In addition, they will be supported to increase sales and enter new export markets. The project is also aimed at supporting the export of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables certified at the international level, UzDaily.uz reports.
“Working together with our friends and colleagues in the US, we can help more Uzbek exporters enter the UK and EU markets, which in turn will help create more rural jobs and improve prosperity through increased trading,” – British Ambassador Tim Thurlow said.
“Our collaboration will help develop Uzbekistan’s agricultural sector to send more Uzbek fruits and vegetables to the UK and EU supermarket supply chains,” said Mikaela Meredith, Director of the USAID Mission in Uzbekistan.
This is the first partnership agreement between the UK Embassy and USAID in Uzbekistan to help Uzbek exporters maximize the benefits of the UK’s Developing Country Trade Scheme (formerly known as the Generalized System of Preferences – GSP).
We remind you that Uzbekistan has become the first country in the world to join the UK’s GSP Enhanced Framework (GSP EF), which has been applied since November 1, 2021. The regime allows Uzbekistan to export 7 800 types of goods to the UK at zero duty.
In early December 2022, EastFruit wrote that the UK included Uzbekistan in the new Developing Countries Trade Scheme (DCTS), which will replace the expanded Generalized System of Preferences (GSP EF) scheme.
As a result of the transition to the new DCTS trade scheme, the number of commodity items that Uzbek producers will be able to export to the UK duty-free starting from 2023 has increased to 7 956.
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